I owe heartfelt thanks to the archivists and librarians who have made my research pleasant and productive: David Moltke-Hansen and Tim Pyatt, Directors of the Southern Historical Collection; Richard A. Shrader, Laura Brown, and John E. White, Jr., Reference Archivists for the Southern Historical Collection; Susan C. Ballinger, Assistant University Archivist; Alice R. Cotten,
Reference Historian, and Harry W. McKown, Jr., Reference Associate for the North Carolina Collection. For their generous advice on editorial matters, their assistance in locating additional sources, and their helpful reading of my work, I am grateful to Glenn Blalock, John C. Brereton, Philip F. Gura, James L. Leloudis, Joel Myerson, Marilyn Norstedt, Bill Rivers, Richard D. Rust, and Heidi M. Schultz. William L. Andrews granted me a departmental research and study assignment to complete my research, and my colleagues Laurence G. Avery, John C. Brereton, David Bartholomae, Gregory Clark, Robert J. Connors, and S. Michael Halloran wrote generous letters on my behalf. I also deeply appreciate the support and help offered by graduate students and faculty members in the Department of English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Joe A. Hewitt, Lynn Holdzkom, and Patricia Dominguez have been outstanding advocates for making these materials available electronically. Electronic publications such as this are truly a collaborative effort, and I could not have wanted better teachers and co-workers than my colleagues at Documenting the American South: Natalia Smith,
Elizabeth Wright, Dongqing Xie, Brian Dietz, Risa Mulligan, Sarah Ficke, and
Amanda Page. Users of this collection owe much to their professionalism, patience, high standards, and unfailing good will. Because all scholars stand on the shoulders of others, I am especially indebted to William S. Powell, whose lifetime of work on the history of North Carolina and its first university have made this project possible. For what he has taught me about my state and the institution in which I am proud to teach, I respectfully dedicate this electronic publication to him.